Gardaí across the country will focus on stopping motorists who may not realise they are still over the limit the day after a festive celebration. Chief Superintendent Mark Curran, from the Garda National Traffic Bureau, said they will be increasing the number of mandatory alcohol testing checkpoints around the country over the next six weeks.

He said 'morning after' drivers still remain a "danger zone". A total of 12pc of all drink driving arrests occur between 8am and 2pm.

Peaking

"Of those, almost a third happen on a Sunday, peaking between 11am and 2pm," he said.

Speaking at the launch of its annual Christmas and New Year Road Safety campaign, he pointed out that gardaí can breath test any driver who has committed a road traffic offence.

New figures reveal one in ten drivers have admitted drinking alcohol before driving over the past 12 months.

And almost 6,000 people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving from January to October this year.

The vast majority were male, and nearly half of those arrests occurred on a Saturday or Sunday.